wheel running off center

I was out on the bike Monday where I got a bit of air ( well a couple of feet max) and landed skew whiff and came off after which I realised the damper/lockout (not sure what it is or for really the lever on the opposite fork to the air valve) was in the lock position as the fork weren’t moving but after a moved the lever they rose and seem fine, but the wheel was off centre maybe 5mm to the left looking from the front but still running true and straight ( it isn’t the wheel tried my mates wheel his was the same) id had the wheel in and out numerous times and couldn’t get it to sit right, concerned with this I nipped to Halfords where the fella told me everything looked fine where he whipped the wheel off and checked things and when he put the wheel back on it fitted true and in the centre where it should be..

Breath.. lol

now when he fitted the wheel back he held it central then tightened the quick release up so that the hub doesn’t fully locate in the slots on the forks (when loose theres prob 2-3mm off movement to centre the wheel and where it was sitting off centre when fully located back in both notches.
is this a normal method for attaching the wheel? I landed fairly lightly and with the wheel turned so when the wheel landed the bike turned in its axle/hub and that’s why I came a cropper I don’t think there was anything like enough force to bend the forks in any way, and I can’t see any stress where they have done so?

Any idea if your wheel was sitting centrally before? I’m going to guess it wasn’t, as it sounds like it’s just not dished properly – in which case you just need to tighten all the spokes on one side.

Like I said though, without seeing it, I’m guessing!

(Ignore the chump in Halfords, you want your axle sitting all the way up into your fork dropouts.)

EDIT – missed the bit about your mates wheel. Maybe you’ve bent something.

Photos of fork dropouts, and photo of the fork with your wheel in.

The QR should sit against the dropouts – not adjusted so that the wheel fits – it’ll eventually move back into the correct position; i.e. against the base of the dropouts.

It could still be the wheel being out of dish possibly – and could be the same issue with your mate’s wheel.

If you can upload some photos someone will be able to give you some advice.

Are you checking its the rim that’s out not just the tyre?

Sounds like you’ve bent something.

Take the air out of the forks and see if they go to full travel and back without any binding or excessive stiction.

You can rule out the wheel for certain by taking it out and putting it back with the disc on the wrong side, if the wheel is at fault it will now be offset to the otherside.

ive let all the air out and they move freely with no rubbing/grinding noises some oild did come out with the air at first but i think thats cos i had the upside down befor that but once i let them stand for a min it stopped straight away

some not so amazing pics bellow.

You can rule out the wheel for certain by taking it out and putting it back with the disc on the wrong side, if the wheel is at fault it will now be offset to the otherside.

^^ This.

Hi yes ive done this previously and its the same with the wheel either way around exept the spokes touch the disc and mounts but it is the wrong way around so im sure thats normal?

could it just be a natural occurance of early 2002/2004 disc forks and modern 2011 wheels/hubs?
or something simple as powder coating on 1 side chiped away and not on the other?

It is very unlikely that you have managed to move the dish of the wheel without actually buckling it. So something is bent or broken.

First the to check is the hub. Take the wheel out and remove the quick release – if it doesn’t come out easily you may find the hub axle is bent or broken. Keep the wheel still and rotate the axle, if one end goes up and down you have foun your bent bit! Try pulling both ends of the axle apart – it may be snapped??

Next up borrow a front wheel from anyone – stick it in your fork – is the wheel aligned or the same as yours? If it is the same as yours you have bent or broken the fork.

Those are the only things it is likely to be. Other than something (dirt/stone)between the axle and the drop out on one side.

Next up borrow a front wheel from anyone – stick it in your fork – is the wheel aligned or the same as yours? If it is the same as yours you have bent or broken the fork.

done this mates was same, thing is theres no obvious place where they have bent no cracks no buckles in the powder coating, the only way i can see is if 1 side has gone up and deformed the bridge that holds both sides of the lower forks together, and im certain there wasnt enough force to do this even with damper return on as the still compress but dont return when put under force until i again move the damper lever, maybe its just a factory defualt that no ones ever picked up on.
I may try filing the powder coating out of the otherside and see if its something simple like that..?

cos maybe the guys at decath did the same as the halfords fella to seat the wheel when the built the bike for me (hold wheel where it should be centered, then tighten) maybe its standard practice?

Sounds like there is something wrong with the fork. Taking a file to it is NOT a solution. Get a tape measure out. Is the amount of exposed stanchion the same on both sides? Have you bent a stanchion at the top so one irk leg is effectively behind the other.

Something is bent. Take it to a proper bike shop and get it checked outmproperly.

Not halfords and not decathlon!

any1 recomend a shop around here sk14 area, are the bottom halves easy to obtain if it has bent it, and easy enough to swap out?

How old is the bike? You’ve not had the wheel out since Decathlon built it?

I suppose you could assume the wheel was not seated in the dropout when they built the bike, and ask them to investigate?

spooky_b329 – Member

How old is the bike? You’ve not had the wheel out since Decathlon built it?

I suppose you could assume the wheel was not seated in the dropout when they built the bike, and ask them to investigate?

If I read this correctly….

thequeenscheese – Member

Next up borrow a front wheel from anyone – stick it in your fork – is the wheel aligned or the same as yours? If it is the same as yours you have bent or broken the fork.

done this mates was same,

By same I assume OP means that same as his wheel, eg offset, then it cant be the wheel. This can be confirmed by putting OP wheel in mates bike. What bike is that in the background? Can that be used to help isolate the fault?

How old is the bike? You’ve not had the wheel out since Decathlon built it?

its a bike i bought random bits for here n there thinking i was gonna build it myself (worst idea ive had i think) but decided to let decath do it for me, the forks were from a fella on fleabay “mbuk” who reconditions fork then sells them on (legitimate id say) but maybe they were like this before he sold them to me and unfortunatly the garauntee has lapsed on them anyway also the damage (if any) occured on a jump so invalid aswell..

Would marzocchi fork be considered low to mediun in rating/quality (pre the china move 2002-2004 these i think) and could possibly leave the factory like this?

I know shortcut will tell me off now but filed a few mill off oneside and its pretty good now with just some tyre wobble wich i guess is just the tyre.. either they were either knackered now or this will work well, there is still maybe a mill of rim travel if something is held upto the rim then spin but for off the shelf stuff this is pretty average no? how is the balancing done by tightening spokes?

hard to tell from the pics, but from your description it sounds like the fork is bent.

does the lockout only lock one leg? If so and if it doesn’t have a blow-off function for big hits, then maybe it’s bent at the brace slightly during the impact.

Looks to me like the forks are twisted.

hard to tell from the pics, but from your description it sounds like the fork is bent.

does the lockout only lock one leg? If so and if it doesn’t have a blow-off function for big hits, then maybe it’s bent at the brace slightly during the impact.

as far as i can tell it doesnt ive got some pdf instructs can i upload them here?

Difficult to tell from the pics, but in the 2nd pic, looks like they are bent to me

If you can get hold of an engineers square, rest one edge against the stanchion with the bottom resting against the top of the lower and pointing towards the other lower. The other end on the engineers square should tock the top of the other lower at the same point (if you see what I mean). If it doesn’t, then the forks are more than likely fubar’d

down this link to get the instructions it says 2006 but im sure mine are 2004…

https://rapidshare.com/files/4084701977/2006-mx-comp-eta.pdf

Sorry for the hi-jack, but I’m having a similar problem. Took the tire off tonight, tried the wheel on both ways, seems to be out by about 5mm (i.e 2.5mm adjustment to center it). I serviced my hub a few days ago and there was no problem with the axle being bent, so I know the hub is fine. It’s not buckled though, just totally off center….

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IMG_3072web[/url] by colinsphotos26[/url], on Flickr

Difficult to tell from the pics, but in the 2nd pic, looks like they are bent to me

If you can get hold of an engineers square, rest one edge against the stanchion with the bottom resting against the top of the lower and pointing towards the other lower. The other end on the engineers square should tock the top of the other lower at the same point (if you see what I mean). If it doesn’t, then the forks are more than likely fubar’d

yeah they almost still fine deffo only millimeters (well was before a took a couple of mill out of the notch where the wheel sits)lol seem fine now tubes move freely im certain thell be fine untill they break haha ..

whats the correct amount of air to put in them? in 13-14stone and had around 150lbs in is that about right?

What bike is that in the background? Can that be used to help isolate the fault?

its my old1 now the missussess tried that wheel but its v and wouldnt spin cos the spokes hit the caliper but the wheel was off the same when i fitted it, like a numpty i didnt try this 1 in the old bike, biut im certain its the forks just if and when they were bent/twisted from new/before i got them/by me, surley should take a little hammer and tbh it was more of a roll than downward forced landing and i doubt i even got 2ft of air..

somethings not right if the spokes are fouling the caliper. sounds like bent forks.

somethings not right if the spokes are fouling the caliper. sounds like bent forks.

their not unless the weheels the wrong way or from the other bike which is V brakes

I can’t help thinking that filing the dropouts to ‘fix’ this is going to result in a future visit to A&E!

Thequeenscheese. – yes filing was stupid! I suggest new forks.

Other guy – that rebuilt a hub – I suggest you check you did it properly!! And that the bearings are fully seated and that you have the parts all in on the right sides – there is ofte. A difference between disk and non disk sides and I guess you got it wrong!! Swap them over!! And try a different wheel!

Shortcut, the wheel was off center before the hub was serviced.

I can’t help thinking that filing the dropouts to ‘fix’ this is going to result in a future visit to A&E!

im only talkin 2mill if that most of it was powder coating, and like ive sadi for all i know they have been like this all along or as long as iv had them, and its the only fix i can see as i doubt theyd bend back such a short distance especially without stressing them even more.. and i dont have £200 at the min to replace

Can’t see that filing a couple of mm out of the seat of the dropout is going to cause any catastrophic failure, as long as the quick release still clamps onto a flat surface.

Riding on bent forks…thats another matter 🙂

u cant tell there bent, and i only get out on it mostly at wkends or at most twice a week i will take it and get it checked over but im sure its fine..

Good bike shops near Hyde are northwest mountain bike centre in cheadle or evens cycles at the national cycling centre I work there and the mechanics are spot on

cheers i will nip in at some point cos i also think the hub/dish may well be out by half a mill or so if this isnt the norm for runof the mill products….
in fact ill try n come monday before im away on holl and it will be praying on my mind..

matt1986

is there a certain area i need to park in or find?

How big of a job is it to swap the lowers out for new/new second hand good ones?
can it be done at home any special tools required ?

Been a while since I have had/worked on but is this not just cup and cone bearing set to far to one side of the axle. As I recall you used to be able to have more free axle on one side vs the other if you did not build correctly. If you have been filling out the drop outs then the forks are FUBAR’d now any way. The QR is only meant to stop the wheel coming out and not stop it moving fore and aft in the drop out

Been a while since I have had/worked on but is this not just cup and cone bearing set to far to one side of the axle. As I recall you used to be able to have more free axle on one side vs the other if you did not build correctly. If you have been filling out the drop outs then the forks are FUBAR’d now any way. The QR is only meant to stop the wheel coming out and not stop it moving fore and aft in the drop out

not sure about the wheel its as it turned up brand new, but i dont think there FUBAR’d from filing they are either knackered already or if its what ive done then i can easily do the otherside the same, and i know a top bike should be spot on to 100th of a mill but this aint they arnt gonna break, but i d think ive slightly donr the axle/hub as there is a little rimm wobblenow its seating centered……
😥

not sure about the wheel its as it turned up brand new, but i dont think there FUBAR’d from filing they are either knackered already or if its what ive done then i can easily do the otherside the same, and i know a top bike should be spot on to 100th of a mill but this aint they arnt gonna break, but i d think ive slightly donr the axle/hub as there is a little rimm wobblenow its seating centered……

to be honest the wheel not running centered is the least of your worries, if the brace does crack, the only thing holding them together is your QR.

For the sake of £100 for some Toras, i personally would not risk it. A mate had a fork disintegrate just as he hit a tiny jump, **** his face up to the point where we didn’t recognise him and cracked a vertebrae in his neck causing nerve damage

in which case i will repair them, how difficult of a job is it to do myself if i got hold of some good lowers?